Mackenzie Mgbako Is the Wing Talent Indiana Desperately Needs

In a pivotal offseason for Mike Woodson’s tenure at Indiana, the Hoosiers just landed one of two remaining uncommitted five-star recruits in the class of 2023 in dynamic Roselle Catholic (New Jersey) wing/forward Mackenzie Mgbako.

Mgbako’s recruitment was a wild ride. Early speculation had Louisville in the lead, given current Cardinals assistant Nolan Smith had a hand in Mgbako’s prior commitment to Duke. He initially set a visit with Louisville as his last scheduled visit, but canceled and decided to choose between the Hoosiers and Kansas instead. All this came after Mgbako decommitted from Duke in the aftermath of surprise returners from talented freshmen like Mark Mitchell and Kyle Filipowski, who could have blocked Mgbako’s path to minutes had he matriculated in Durham. Eventually, he picked Indiana in a huge coup for a team that desperately needed wing talent.

There may not be a more traditionally talented player in this down 2023 recruiting class than Mgbako, who at times on the EYBL circuit looked like he could rise to the top of the recruiting rankings. His skill set is tantalizing as a long, athletic wing with the ability to shoot off the catch, though his percentage on that circuit from beyond the arc was a rather bleak 20%. He’ll get to play more as a traditional wing at Indiana than Kansas, where he profiled more as a power forward.

From a physical tools standpoint, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more impressive duo in college basketball than Mgbako and Oregon transfer center Kel’el Ware, a 7-footer and former McDonald’s All-American himself. Both possess NBA frames and immense athleticism, even if there are reasonable questions about how productive they’ll be in a college setting next year. Projected starting power forward Malik Reneau is also an impressive athlete, only adding to this talented frontcourt.

The primary question that comes with this move is shooting. The Hoosiers’ roster sets up best to play Mgbako at small forward, a move that comes with a price from a spacing standpoint if his numbers don’t substantially improve from his time on the EYBL circuit. Mgbako has sound fundamentals, but shot just 20% from deep last summer for the New Jersey Scholars, and he’ll be playing next to two traditional bigs up front.

Point guard Xavier Johnson isn’t a non-shooter, but he’s never made more than 40 threes in a season. Indiana’s offense with Johnson running the show figures to be heavily ball-screen oriented, and a system like that without enough shooting to space the floor makes getting easy looks challenging. Veteran Trey Galloway will need to have a big year, as will young shooters like C.J. Gunn and Gabe Cupps off the bench.

All this said, talents like Mgbako rarely come available in May. When they do, it’s almost always worth taking them and putting the pieces together later. Mgbako is the second-highest-rated recruit for Indiana in the 247Sports database, behind only Romeo Langford. Mgbako is clearly the highest-rated signee of the Woodson era.

There are a few remaining holdovers from the Archie Miller era in Bloomington, but it’s fair to say this year’s team without longtime frontcourt stalwarts Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson is closest to Woodson’s vision for a team. This group has the potential to play a far more pro-style offense rather than the post-heavy looks Indiana deployed the last two years to accentuate Jackson-Davis’s strengths. This group is certainly not without flaws and its two most talented players are largely unproven, but this type of talent injection gives Woodson a fighting chance to keep Indiana near the top of the Big Ten. How well it works will set the tone for the rest of the Woodson era and should illustrate whether he’s capable of getting the Hoosiers back into the national title conversation.